15 things you need to know about Conor McGregor

Surprise surprise...the king is back!

Conor McGregor – the notorious one. He is so notorious that even his Twitter handle reflects the same. Known for his notoriety, Conor McGregor is a natural headliner, whether it is outside the Octagon or inside the Octagon, his actions cause quite a stir. If you follow UFC, you would know how exciting it is to watch him. The current UFC Featherweight Champion is someone who never backs down from a fight.

His prowess in the cage is such that he has been the biggest draw in the history of UFC. Recently, he caused quite a stir with his off-hand tweets regarding the WWE Superstars and even when the entire roster rose up against his tweets, he has not backed down. His latest tweet is just an indication towards how self-confident he is.

At the recently concluded UFC 202, Conor got one back against Nate Diaz by defeating him in a five-round classic, leveling the scores against a guy who he’s building up quite a rivalry with. McGregor proved his detractors wrong by earning a majority decision victory in what was one of the best fights in recent memory.

While he cherishes the victory and prepares for the final bout in the trilogy against Diaz, these are some of the things – from his insane accomplishments, pre-match rituals, to breaking Brock Lesnar’s record – you must know about the Notorious, Conor McGregor:


#15 His Idol

McGregor posing like Ali for a magazine cover

The first thing you need to know about Conor McGregor is his idol, who unsurprisingly is Muhammed Ali. Muhammed Ali, who was big on trash talking his opponents and playing mind games with them, had a huge impact on McGregor. McGregor’s style is much akin to it and he indeed backs up his talk with a strong performance when it matters most. Like Ali, McGregor indeed walks the talk.

His rip-off of Ali is that great that UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has nicknamed him as “The Irish Muhammed Ali”. Though McGregor has revealed that he idolizes Ali, unlike many sports personnel, he has spoken openly about his desire to create his own unique niche inside the Octagon.

#14 5 Consecutive Performance of the Night Awards

Its the McGregor Era now in UFC

There is no other fighter in the UFC history who has received the most sought after “Performance of the Night” award like Mcgregor. McGregor has received five “Performance of the Night” awards and the wonder of it doesn’t end there. He has won those awards consecutively making him hold both the records in the UFC history.

His performances inside the Octagon have drawn fans like a moth to the flames. Being a striker, he has won most of his fights with either a KO or TKO. His obsession with movement confuses most of his opponents and enables him to land those fearsome strikes in an effective manner.

#13 Fastest Title Fight Victory

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Title fights are tedious. They tend to last much longer than normal fights. But, to his credit, McGregor has the record for the fastest title fight victory. And the most amazing fact is that the fight just lasted for 13 seconds.

On 12 December 2015, McGregor took on the UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo – who until then, was undefated for 10 years – in a championship bout to unify the championship. In an astounding display of striking ability, Mcgregor knocked out Aldo in just 13 seconds to become the Featherweight Champion.

#12 Tattoos

McGregor loves his tattoos

Like many fighters, McGregor too has a love for tattoos. His penchant for tattoos has transformed him before the very eyes of his fans. He initially came out with a small tattoo on his neck which has almost faded into the background in the face of his new tattoos.

Since his debut in UFC, McGregor has undergone a jaw-dropping transformation. Currently, he has six tattoos on his body and by any means, they aren't small ones. He capped off his love for tattoos with the latest addition of his name around the tiger tattoo he got on his stomach. And his chest tattoo is just an absolute piece of art.

Strangely enough, it was widely speculated that The Notorious One was going to change his Twitter handle to Celtic Tiger after he got his tiger tattoo. But, I am glad that he hasn't changed it. Apart from being lame, it would have been very bad from a marketing standpoint.

#11 He is the first Non-American fighter to hold two world titles at the same time

McGregor with his two belts

Conor Mcgregor’s list of accomplishments just doesn’t end with his accolades in UFC. During his stint in Cage Fighting Championship, Conor McGreor won both the Featherweight and Lightweight Championships in consecutive fights. This feat made him the first Non-American fighter to hold two world titles at the same time.

McGregor’s passion for fighting is so much that he gave away both belts to join UFC and pursue a career where the world’s best fighters are lined up. There is also one other achievement he has accomplished apart from his stint at UFC, which would very well blow your mind, but you have to wait for that revelation.

#10 Superstitions and Sex

He laughs at superstitions

While a lot of the fighters in UFC follow several pre-fight rituals and superstitions, Conor Mcgregor has made it plainly clear that he is not a big fan of those sentiments. In fact, he views them as a form of weakness and absolutely rejects any sort of superstitious rituals before his fight.

One other thing that makes McGregor unique is his public acceptance of having lot of sex before his fights. While many fighters avoid sex before their fight, McGregor really doesn’t care about it. Here is what McGregor answered when he has asked about that.

”That is most certainly a superstition that I do not abide by. I definitely have as much sex as possible.”

#9 He was bullied in high school

Conor doesn’t like bullies

McGregor, being small in size, has gone through the horrifying experience of being bullied in high school. In one of his interviews, McGregor has admitted that he was indeed bullied in high school and even went as far as to say that he had a perfect face for bullying which made him an ideal target.

It was those bullying experiences that drove McGregor to pursue martial arts. Before he became an MMA fighter, he was a boxer. Nowadays, he supports anti-bullying campaigns and helps students deal with bullying at school.

#8 Fighting is 24/7 on his mind

He lives for fighting

Unlike many fighters who just train and fight for a living, fighting is very much in the blood of McGregor. In a documentary featuring him, McGrgor has told that it was 24/7 on his mind.

He had even gone as far as to practice his kicks on his room walls just after getting up from the bed or even at midnight. His obsession with fighting is so much that it is a standing joke among the people who is close to McGregor that he is rearing for a fight anytime.

#7 He almost chose another career

McGregor has indeed gone through that dark phase

Considering how notorious and famous Conor McGregor is now, it is hard to imagine how that he almost chose another career path. Many fighters go through that phase where they consider hanging up their boots and walking off in a different path. For McGregor, that phase came during his early fighting days.

After debuting with a loss in the lightweight category, he won his next match against Stephen Bailey. After his fight with Stephen Bailey, McGregor contemplated a different career path. His mother realising his potential contacted his coach John Kavanagh and reinvigorated him to pursue his mixed martial arts career. Thankfully, McGregor’s interest in MMA was rekindled and now we have the notorious one.

#6 The fabled 4-second knockout

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We earlier reminded you that there is one other accomplishment in his professional career that would blow you mind. This is it. The fabled 4-second knockout.

During a bout in Immortal Fighting Championship 4, Conor knocked out his opponent Paddy Doherty is just 4 seconds and wowed the audience into silence. That victory made him nearly immortal and the irony that it came in 4 seconds to coincide with the name of the tournament is very hard to miss. His fearsome knockout punches became famous after that particular win.

#5 He supported gay marriage

He supports same-sex marriage

McGregor’s loud voice is known much for his notoriety outside the Octagon and inside it. But, McGregor does use his loud-mouthed skills to address social issues too. Apart from being a huge supporter of Anti-Bullying campaigns, McGregor has lent his voice to the LGBT community too.

During may 2015, McGregor lent his voice to the LGBT community by voicing out his support to the same-sex marriage campaign in Ireland. McGregor voiced his support saying the following.

"We're all human here at the end of the day -- regardless of color, gender, sexuality...We all deserve the same rights."

#4 He tried to place a $3 Million bet with Dana White/ highest payday in MMA history (breaks Brock Lesnar’s record)

Dana White would probably be happy that he didn’t place that bet

Visualisation of a fight has been one of the major assets of Conor McGregor. His gifted quality of visualisation is such that he could predict almost all of his matches down to the round he will win.

One of the juicy stories about Conor McGregor is that he tried to place a $3 Million bet with Dana White before his fight with Chad Mendes as his payday was not enough for him. He even predicted that he will knockout his opponent in the second round. Dana White would probably be happy now that he didn’t accept that bet.

When it comes to the business aspect, he recently beat the likes of Brock Lesnar to create a new record. Conor earned a disclosed $3 million payday (highest in the sports history), while Lesnar got $ 2.5 million for his recent fight.

#3 The secret behind his Hat

The hat McGregor used to carry in his bag

One of the strangest things about McGregor is his association with the hat he carried. As you would have realised by now that McGregor is not a big fan of sentimental things, this only makes the presence of the hat that much stranger.

The hat was reportedly his grandfather’s, and though McGregor stresses that it does not hold any sentimental value but is a reminder of his early life, one could only agree that the hat is too valuable to him. Unfortunately, someone who doesn’t understand its value stole it from McGregor leaving the Featherweight Champion without his prized possession.

#2 He was a plumber

He knows what it takes to reach the top

In most of the success stories, one thing remains common – a humble beginning. Conor too had one such humble beginning. Like many European kids, Conor initially dreamed of becoming a soccer player. But the bullying drove him towards a different career and he soon became a boxer before venturing into MMA.

The interesting fact about McGregor is that he had been a plumber in his life too. After he stopped boxing and before he ventured into MMA, McGregor had a brief career in the field of plumbing. Once he started his MMA career, he left plumbing to concentrate on his fighting despite his father’s heavy protests. No one can say that McGregor has been handed his opportunity. He has earned it with sweat and blood.

#1 He has never been knocked out

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Being a striker McGregor has knocked out many fighters during his bouts. But, never in his MMA career has he been knocked out.

McGregor has suffered three losses in his MMA career and everything has come via submission. McGregor’s agility and the fact that he has an insanely strong chin makes it hard for his opponents to knock out him. There are very few fighters in UFC who could stand toe to toe with McGregor and enter into a strike fest with him. Being a tough guy, it would be very hard to put McGregor down to the mat with just punches.

Knowing these things about McGregor, it is hard to imagine him being humble. As Muhammed Ali said, “It is hard to be humble when you are as great as I am.”

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Edited by Staff Editor